Vietnamese and foreign-invested enterprises have invested about US$9 billion in green growth-related sectors such as renewable energy and equipment.

Nam Cau Kien Ecological Industrial Park in the northern city of Haiphong. Photo: Nam Cau Kien Ecological Industrial Park

The figure was released by Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, at a seminar on "Foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam's green growth" on April 27.

He added that this figure accounts for about 2% of GDP, and the average growth over the past two years has been quite high.

"This is one of the good signals for the country's green development," he said.

According to Tuan, green growth and sustainable development are irreversible trends every country strives to achieve. The Vietnamese Prime Minister made strong commitments at COP26, reaffirming Vietnam's desire for economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and social justice.

"Vietnam is trying to successfully implement the goal of green growth to not only contribute to addressing the world's common issues but also continue reaffirming its position and role as a responsible member of the international community and one of the pioneering countries in the region that can catch up with the world trend," Tuan said.

To realize the goal, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has advised the Prime Minister to issue a national green strategy for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050, develop an action plan to implement it, and guide ministries, branches, and localities to include green growth-related content in their socio-economic development plans and strategies.

"Achieving the goal of green growth requires the business community's participation, including foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs)," he stressed.

According to the Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Agency, FDI businesses play a very important role in economic recovery and growth by implementing inclusive, sustainable development, including green growth.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Photo: VGP

"FDI enterprises have contributed to changing perceptions and created resources and experience for management, modern technology, and equipment to realize green production and cooperate with domestic enterprises to contribute to the common cause of green growth," he said.

Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that to achieve the goal of zero net emissions by 2050, it is necessary to focus on investment in science and technology.

Statistics from the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development show that the transition to a circular economy will generate about $4-5 trillion in additional economic output annually until 2030 and create many new jobs through new business models.

He added that foreign companies investing in Vietnam are not all large corporations but medium-sized enterprises. If Vietnam is not committed to technology standards, they will use cheap technology to save costs," Vinh stressed.

Vinh said it is necessary to establish the highest technology for foreign enterprises investing in Vietnam, so they will invest in the most advanced science and technology in their production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Vietnam has set a target to increase the contribution of its green economy to GDP from $6.7 billion in 2020 to $300 billion by 2050.